India levies anti-dumping duty on steel from China, EU, US

India has slapped anti-dumping duty on certain stainless steel products from the EU and several other nations including China and Korea to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports. The duty has been imposed by the revenue department following recommendation by the Directorate General of Anti- Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD). As per a notification issued by the department, the levy ranges between 4.58 per cent and 57.39 per cent of the landed value of cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel.The duty will be in effect until December 10, 2020, it said, while exempting certain grades of stainless steel from the levy.The anti-dumping duty will be imposed on the imports of stainless steel products from China, Taiwan (Chines Taipei) South Korea, South Africa, Thailand, the United States of America, and the European Union. Earlier this month, the government had imposed anti- dumping duty on imports of certain steel wire rods from China for five years.Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if the domestic industry has been hurt by a surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose duties under the multilateral WTO regime.Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in the cost of products.